Kenta Kobashi’s comeback was remarkably short, ending in early September despite only a handful of high-profile matches. None of them were singles bouts, none of them were for a title, and this year the highest he got on a Budokan card was 3rd from the top. Yet despite all that, and despite not being 100%, he still had a hell of a year. A look at his highlights, plus recent news and New Japan’s Tokyo Dome card, below!
Section 1- Results
All Japan: Tenzan & Kojima won the Real World Tag League, beating Suwama & Kondo in the final.
Dragon Gate: Team Mochizuki retained the trios belts on 11/29. King of Gate round 1 included Madoka upsetting Cyber Kong (due to interference), Magnitude over Yokosuka, Mochizuki over Gamma, BB Hulk over Ryo Saito and Doi over Dragon Kid.
New Japan: December 6th saw Tanaka & Ohtani beat Nagata & Kanemoto, Tanahashi beat Bernard, and Makabe & Yano retain the tag titles against Nakanishi & Yoshie. December 7th had Yujiro & Naito retaining the junior tag titles over Jado & Gedo, Low Ki retaining against Taguchi, Bernard over Goto, and Tanahashi over Makabe.
NOAH: Five title matches on the tour, five successful defenses: Marufuji over Kikuchi, KENTA over Eddie Edwards, Saito & Smith over Morishima & Taue, Kanemaru & Suzuki over KENTA & Ishimori, and Sasaki over Saito. Akiyama beat Morishima in a #1 contenders match.
Section 2- News
All Japan: I neglected to mention in the last update that Takayama challenged Muta for a Triple Crown shot, though nothing has been made official yet.
Dragon Gate: Two big matches are set for the year-end show in Fukuoka on the 28th. CIMA will return and team with Liger to challenge Cyber Kong & Yamato for the tag titles. The main event will be Shingo defending against the King of Gate winner.
New Japan: The January 4th card is bursting up good & plenty. Dark & lovely. Liger celebrates his 20th anniversary under the mask by teaming with former rival Sano against Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue. Nagata vs Tanaka II will happen and there’s a 99% chance the Zero-One title will be on the line (assuming Nagata retains against Takaiwa). Bernard, Iizuka, Ishii & Karl Anderson will job to, I mean face, the unthinkable team of Chono, Choshu, Angle & Nash. Yujiro & Naito vs Shelley & Sabin for the junior tag titles will go down as expected. Ki will defend againstTiger Mask IV. Makabe & Yano will defend against TenKoji AND the Dudleys. Last but not least, NOAH will in fact be participating: Akiyama vs Nakanishi and Nakamura & Goto vs Misawa & Sugiura have been signed!
NOAH: Sasaki vs Akiyama is probably going to wait until the first Budokan show, which won’t be until March 1st.
Section 3- Shilling Holdings Competition
You probably saw my Harley Race interview. If not, what the heck are you waiting for? Worth noting that “Morishima might yet go to WWE†is bolstered by his two high-profile losses on the last tour, especially in the tag title where he was pinned instead of Taue.
Hey, this is two weeks old but that shouldn’t stop you.
And this NOAH discussion is from yesterday! That’s fresh-as-can-be!
Section 4- Kobashi, part 8 of 7
On the one hand, Kobashi has been more of a chop machine than ever due to his physical limitations. On the other hand, Kobashi’s charisma and importance make him very easy for opponents to play off of. The man himself gives all he has every time, and so do those around him. With only 8 months of matches I think he’ll wind up as Japan’s wrestler of the year (though maybe not MVP). Here are his highlights.
51. Kobashi, Honda & Shiozaki vs Akiyama, Shiga & Kanemaru, January 13th
Importance: The return of the Kobashi vs Akiyama multi-man tag, which had been a staple for several years.
Uniqueness: You get a sense of a feeling-out process, as this is Kobashi’s third match back. A lot of the chop spots that would become standard fare this year are laid out.
Why it’s a good match: Kobashi and Go chuckin’ big-time chops at anything that moves, the always-fun Kobashi vs Kanemaru matchup, and just generally enjoyable wrestling.
52. Kobashi, Honda & Taniguchi vs Morishima, Marufuji & Sugiura, February 21st
Importance: The first meeting between Kobashi and Morishima since the June 4th 2006 tag title battle. Morishima isn’t known for taking it easy, and one wonders how healthy Kobashi really is.
Uniqueness: Kobashi’s opposition is the tag champs (Marufuji/Sugiura) and the soon-to-be GHC champ. All of them take shots at Kobashi, and also put a hurting on young Taniguchi.
Why it’s a good match: Kobashi vs Morishima is a matchup we’ve seen precious little of, and it delivers big-time here. Marufuji and Sugiura taking pot-shots adds to the enjoyment, and Taniguchi is an effective whipping boy. Almost certainly the 6-man of the year, which in Japan makes it a contender for best of the year.
53. Kobashi, Honda & KENTA vs Takayama, Sano & Aoki, March 2nd
Importance: Kobashi’s first 2008 match in Tokyo, and his first match opposite Takayama since their April 2004 singles match.
Uniqueness: Kobashi and Takayama GO AT IT, something that would be a theme in their later matches.
Why it’s a good match: Even Aoki takes it to Kobashi. Add in Takayama’s exchanges with Kobashi and KENTA and you’ve got yourself a winner.
54. Kobashi, Honda & KENTA vs Takayama, Sano & Shiozaki, April 27th
Importance: Rematch from the March show, but with one big difference: Aoki is replaced by Go Shiozaki. No obvious job boy, and two very evenly matched teams.
Uniqueness: A rare chance to see Kobashi opposite his protégé.
Why it’s a good match: The opening minutes, as Kobashi and Shiozaki tee off on one another.
55. Kobashi & Kikuchi vs Marufuji & KENTA, May 24th
Importance: The first time Kobashi & Kikuchi had paired up on TV since April 2nd 2006, when their opponents were… Marufuji and KENTA. How about that. This is the final 20th anniversary celebration match for Kobashi and Kikuchi, who debuted in 1988 along with Taue. Quite the dojo class there.
Uniqueness: Unlike the 2006 iteration, this feels like a proper fight between the top young team of the early ‘90s and its current counterpart.
Why it’s a good match: Kikuchi is surly, KENTA and Marufuji show confidence, and Kobashi, well he’s Kobashi. I’m also a big fan of the high-quality feed via NOAH’s website in Japan, really making the most of the action.
56. Kobashi & KENTA vs Sasaki & Nakajima, June 14th
Importance: The first big Kobashi vs Sasaki match where there weren’t young lions on hand to take most of the punishment. Arguably the most high-profile Kobashi match of the year.
Uniqueness: It isn’t at Budokan Hall, but this has a big-match feel.
Why it’s a good match: In addition to high-end A/V like the last match, you’ve got four high-end strikers leaving it all in the ring. Not quite as good as the 2005 match with Go in KENTA’s place, but not that far off either.
57. Kobashi, KENTA, Aoki & Ito vs Sasaki, Nakajima, Okita & Miyahara, Survival Tag, SEM August 17th
Importance: The first ‘survival tag’ in NOAH history, a concept dating way back to All Japan and its epic stable wars. It’s two-on-two, with those losing a fall being eliminated and replaced. The first team to get three falls wins.
Uniqueness: The first four falls are mostly about the young lions, and they get a chance to shine. The final fall is a big rematch that delivers. You’re getting several very different matches in one package.
Why it’s a good match: Everyone tries their hardest, Korakuen Hall brings the noise, and despite a run time of over an hour the pace and quality rarely slacken. A satisfying finish caps off Kobashi’s last big match. You can see his right hand is taped up, but he throws chops as though nothing was wrong. Is that attitude admirable? Reckless? Stupid? All three? I can’t say. However, I will say this match will finish very high on my puro MOTY list.
Next time: The rest of the best of ’08, plus the annual “big in…” list!
